IRIS Kharg

Though completed in 1980, Kharg was not present for more than half of the Iran–Iraq War. It was added to the order of battle in 1984 and served almost three years in the war, supporting Iranian warships by refuelling, and carrying ammunition and supplies.[23] In August 1987, Kharg led a fleet of six vessels, including IRIS Riazi and aided by two Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters, to conduct a minesweeping operation in the Sea of Oman. The area of operation extended 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) east of the Fujairah to the Khor Fakkan.[1] Reports indicated that during the operation, American and French warships were nearby and exchanged radio communications with Iranians for identification without any further contact.[1] When US forces carried out Operation Praying Mantis in April 1988, the ship was stationed at its home port of Bandar Abbas Naval Base.[29]

Kharg was refitted in 1994.[30]

It visited Jeddah on 7 March 1998, marking the first port call of an Iranian naval ship to Saudi Arabia since 1979.[31]

On 31 August 2009, Kharg, along with the frigate IRIS Sabalan, formed the 3rd naval group and left home for an anti-piracy mission in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden that lasted 73 days until 17 November 2009.[28] During its next, similar mission it sailed about 1,900 nmi (3,500 km; 2,200 mi) to support the same warship as part of the 7th naval group for 92 days, from 17 March to 17 June 2010.[28] Later that year, Kharg supported IRIS Alvand in another Aden anti-piracy mission from 28 August to 15 November 2010.[28]

Kharg entered the Suez Canal on 22 February 2011, with the frigate Alvand, on a deployment reported to be a training mission to Latakia, Syria.[32][33] While docked at Latakia, a new cooperation agreement between Iran and Syria was signed aboard Kharg.[13] The two ships, which comprised the 12th naval group, were on a mission from 27 January until they returned home on 21 March 2011, and in the Red Sea they saved a Hong Kong merchant vessel from Somali pirates.[28]

It entered the Suez Canal again on 18 February 2012, after briefly docking at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[34] It was sent along with the corvette IRIS Naghdi of the 18th naval group on a combined mission involving anti-piracy, training and intelligence collecting activities, lasting for 64 days from 22 January to 26 March 2012.[28] During this mission, it sailed some 12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) as far as the Mediterranean Sea and the personnel performed the Hajj.[28] The two ships were together as the 22nd naval group, deployed for anti-piracy measures in the Red Sea between 1 September and 14 November 2012.[28] They docked briefly at Port Sudan, which was described as an "unprecedented visit".[35] The two also engaged Somali pirates during the mission and released two hijacked merchant vessels in April, including the Bolivian-flagged bulk carrier Eglantine (whose deck was cleared by commandos), as well as the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship Xiang Hua Men.[36] The mission was reportedly "closely monitored by Western and Israeli militaries".[37]

As the very first IRIN vessels to enter the Pacific Ocean, Kharg and the frigate Sabalan were named the 24th naval group and made a 13,500 nmi (25,000 km; 15,500 mi) journey to Jinjiang, China. The two ships made a port call at Colombo, Sri Lanka, en route. The voyage started on 22 January and lasted 72 days until 4 April 2013.[28] The mission was described as the "longest range deployment in Iranian naval history".[12]

On 19 August 2013, it along with Sabalan comprised the 27th naval group and undertook another anti-piracy and intelligence operation near Bab-el-Mandeb. However, it was replaced by the landing ship IRIS Larak in the middle of that mission.[28]

It was teamed up again with Sabalan as the 29th naval group, departing for a scheduled three-month cruise to the Atlantic Ocean, starting on 21 January 2014.[38] In mid-April, the plan was called off and the two were ordered to return.[39]

Bellingcat reported that satellite imagery showed Kharg being moved to a floating drydock in August 2015, having been berthed at the ISOICO shipyard, Bostanu, since November 2014.[40] It left the floating drydock in January 2016.[41] During its time in drydock, it underwent a major refit that included an overhaul of its boiler,[28] the replacement of its steam turbines, and replacing and upgrading its navigation systems. Iranian officials said that the new systems were built domestically.[42]

Its first post-refit deployment was to the Bab-el-Mandeb in June 2018, supporting Sabalan and Naghdi of the 54th and 55th naval groups respectively. It returned home on 21 August 2018.[28]

On 8 December 2018, Kharg was teamed up again with the frigate Alvand as the 59th naval group and departed for an intelligence collection and escort operation in the Gulf of Aden. The two navigated 5,988 nmi (11,090 km; 6,891 mi) in total, and their mission concluded on 20 January 2019.[28]

Kharg was tasked to support the newly-commissioned IRIS Sahand in its first oceangoing mission, including tanker escort and maritime patrol in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. The voyage of the 63rd naval group lasted 100 days from 26 August to 29 October 2019.[28]

It departed home on 30 January 2020, as the ship supporting the corvette IRIS Bayandor in a voyage to cross the Strait of Malacca.[28] The 66th naval group anchored at the Port of Tanjung Priok, Jakarta, between 25 and 28 February to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Indonesia–Iran relations. The mission was partly for training purposes and Kharg carried hundreds of cadets from the naval academy.[43]

At 2:25 a.m. on 2 June 2021, Kharg was internationally known as being on fire, and sank near Jask in the Gulf of Oman at approximately 8:30 a.m.[44][45] All 400 crew were rescued, with 33 reported injured.[46][47] The ship was reported to have been several days into a training mission.[48] The ship sank in a region of sensitive waterways around the Strait of Hormuz through which about 20% of the world oil trade passes, and where there have been accusations of attacks on ships of enemies Iran and Israel, with Israel attacking a dozen Iranian oil tankers bound for Syria in violation of an oil embargo, since late 2019,[49] and Iran reported to have attacked ships with limpet mines.[50] Iran did not immediately give the cause of the sinking,[51] but a fire was reported to have started in the ship's engine room at approximately 11:00 a.m. on 1 June.[45][46] Satellite footage shows its wreck, having sunk in shallow waters, lying on its starboard side, with the bottom of the hull above water, and with much of the hull, port bridge wing, helo hangar, and flight deck visible from above.[52]

Between 2010 and 2013, the UK government declassified some confidential documents regarding the ship, that were published by the Margaret Thatcher Foundation: